


It's the Smell of You

by Salazar101



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 10:03:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3525101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salazar101/pseuds/Salazar101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the Tevinter Imperium, everyone smells like a Beta.  So it's a bit of a culture shock when Dorian goes south and finds himself driven to distraction by the overpowering smell of Iron Bull.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's the Smell of You

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from my tumblr. Oh yeah and I fill requests and there is a ton of adoribull ficlets over at my tumblr ohgodsalazarwhy (or salazarssaucystories if you just want all fic all the time)

When it came right down to it, Tevinter only ascribed to three basic things: Power, Control, and Fashion.  Dorian considered himself a master of all three, as befitting a mage of his rank and station.  His father had taught him Control, to keep the magic at Dorian’s fingertips always under his will, to never bow under the will of demons, to hold his head high as a Pavus and know others would crumble under his will.  His mother taught him Fashion.  He still remembered sitting on a stool as she cupped his chin with one long-nailed hand and applied a simple brush of kohl under his eyes.  Remember, she had told him, the scent of lavender and spice filling his nose, your appearance is armor in and of itself.  So all of Dorian’s glittering rings were like little shields, his flowing cloaks and belts and leather the shining armor.

Power was learned from many different sources.  From University, from Alexius, from his Father and Mother.  Dorian considered himself a success of Tevinter breeding, though he thought this with no lack of bitterness over the system.  Tevinter was a land of many wonders, and he loved them, but it was also a land of injustice, and for that he hated it.  Dorian chaffed under iron fist of the Imperium, of the lies and backstabbing.  He dreamed of a day when things would be different, better, for everyone.  Childish?  His Mother would say so, but Dorian thought his Father would approve.

That being said, there was one thing that Dorian was positive the Imperium had right.  About 700 years ago, the very near history as far as the Imperium was concerned, a man had invented a Very Important concoction.  As Alexius had told it, the Imperium had been separated into not only the castes they had now, but further castes based on whether you were Alpha, Beta, or Omega.  As Tevinter valued control, Betas were seen as the highest ranking, if you wanted to succeed you had to be a beta.  Omegas or Alphas could lose that precious control at a moments notice.  Like animals.  Disgusting.  So this man, an Omega named Senerius Vollisus, had whipped up something that, when smeared behind the ears, completely blocked the pheromones released by Alphas and Omegas.

It changed everything.  Suddenly everyone was a Beta.  With little more than a dab behind the ears, an Omega could keep an Alpha from even looking at them sideways, and an Alpha no longer had to keep frantic Omegas away from them.  At first only the highest ranking mages could afford it, but as the years went on and everyone learned how to make it, the price dropped until even the lowest Soperati were applying it.  Even slaves were always given their own supply, to keep any bad behavior from reflecting on their masters.  Only the lowest of the low couldn’t afford it, and Dorian had never run into any of them from his privileged position in Minrathous.

Since the day he’d had his first heat, Dorian had never had to smell an Alpha.  No one had gotten a whiff of his Omega pheromones either.  When the heat came around, a week every three months, Dorian simply locked himself in his room to sweat it out and then emerged looking just as well groomed and haughty as before.  In the Tevinter Imperium, everyone, absolutely everyone, was Beta.  Dorian adored it.

Then he fled to The South.  Gone were his rich, spicy foods, gone were his exotic street dancers, gone were his riches and extravagant comforts.  Dorian left with a bag that had one crystalline vial of pheromone blocker, he figured he could get more when he got somewhere safe, a single change of clothes, and his staff.  Most things from the Imperium ended up in the South, Dorian hadn’t even considered his blocker wouldn’t be one of those things.

Not only did the Merchant in Redcliffe look at him as if he were crazy when it was mentioned, but everyone in the South REEKED of pheromones.  Dorian had had a headache since getting to Redcliffe, accosted with the scents of Alphas and Omegas around every corner, clogging up his sinuses and making him crazy.  He spent as much time as possible locked away from everyone, trying to avoid all the foreign scents.  Dorian had not considered the weakness of the blocker… if he’d never smelled an Alpha before, his body was now ten times more sensitive to the scent.  Damn this miserable place!

Felix came to visit whenever he could slip away from under Alexius’ stare, updating Dorian on everything that was rapidly spiraling out of control.  It almost seemed too much to fix, even for this famed Inquisitor.  He was a true Beta, thank the Maker.  

"You know if you actually bothered to go outside once in awhile, you get used to it," said Felix one day, shutting the door softly as if sensing just how horrible Dorian’s current migraine was.  Dorian moaned pitifully, a rag over his eyes as his whole body seemed to throb with the pain shooting out of his skull.  Felix took the rag and Dorian could hear the sounds of water before it was placed back over his eyes, slightly damp and mercifully cool.  Dorian let out a small sound of gratitude.

"I met the Inquisitor today," said Felix, Dorian could hear him pulling up a seat beside his bed, "a big fella, Qunari, great curling horns.  He seemed nice, down to Earth… Dorian… I really think he could help stop…my Father."  If Dorian hadn’t known Felix as well as he did, he would have missed the pain in his voice.  Ah, shame on him, acting wounded when Felix was being forced to fight his own father, whom he loved.  Dorian sighed and removed the rag, forcing himself to sit up against the headboard.

"So he seemed inclined to side against Alexius?" asked Dorian, groping along his bedside table until Felix slid a glass of cold water into his palm, "that’s a relief.  I suppose I should make time to meet him."

Felix beamed at him and Dorian felt his headache fade just a little bit.

Dorian hadn’t planned to make an entrance for the Inquisitor, it had just kind of happened that way.  A rift opened in the Chantry spontaneously, and it was fight or die.  The fact that the Inquisitor opened the doors just as Dorian took out two demons was an accident, but a happy one, at least he would know Dorian wasn’t useless.  Dorian turned to introduce himself and then got a whiff of Alpha.  STRONG Alpha.  His tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth and he had to quickly lean against a nearby pillar.  Dorian glanced up, trying to figure out which one of these people it was.  Not the Inquisitor, he was Beta.  The dwarf with the unreasonably sized crossbow was also Beta… but the giant Qunari that loomed even over the Inquisitor reeked of pheromones.  Dorian’s whole body went hot, then cold, then hot again.

"Are you alright?  Did the demons hurt you?"  The Inquisitor was coming forward, hand held out as if to grip Dorian’s shoulder.  Through some reserve of strength he didn’t know he had, Dorian pushed himself up straight with a clearing of his throat.

"Just a bit winded," he said, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Dorian Pavus, of House Pavus, most recently of Minrathous."

"Careful, Boss," said the bigger Qunari, "could be a trap.  It’s the pretty ones you have to watch out for it."

"Bull!" The Inquisitor shook his head and offered a hand to Dorian, "pleasure to meet you, my name is Resheri.  This is Varric and The Iron Bull."

"Charmed," said Dorian dryly, feeling with growing horror a bit of slick trickle down his thighs.  He’d caught the scent of Alphas’ in the market at Redcliffe, but none of them had effected him in this way.  Was he broken?  His heat wasn’t for another two months at least!  It was a testament to his Tevinter taught Control that he did not throw himself at The Iron Bull’s feet and beg for his knot.  Instead he updated the Inquisitor on the situation and made it clear that when he came to confront Alexius, he wanted to be there.  Resheri nodded and they shook hands on it.  Dorian watched them leave, swallowing when Bull gave him one last look over his shoulder before he too departed.

The moment he was alone in the deserted Chantry, Dorian fell to his knees.  He gasped for breath as he undid his pants just enough to reach in and grab his hard cock.  Thank god for his robes, they hid a great deal of sins.  It only took a few short strokes before he was splattering his come all over the stone floor, shame heating the back of his neck as slick made his thighs sticky.  Hopefully Andraste was looking away at this moment.  Dorian quickly tidied himself up and fled.

Before Resheri could return, Dorian stubbornly forced himself sit in the market, disguised of course, and take in the scents.  The migraines stopped gradually, and though the scent of a strong Alpha would sometimes make him squirm, he never once had as strong of a reaction as he’d had to Bull standing all the way across the Chantry.  Maybe it would be better, now that he was expecting it.

It wasn’t better.  Even all through the confrontation, the smell of Bull was in the back of his mind.  Dorian missed the comforts of Tevinter even more, missed knowing that everyone would smell Beta and act Beta and no one was a slave to their base desires.  The sudden defense against Alexius’ spellcasting took his mind off of Bull right fast though, dumping him and Resheri one year into the future, and also into some gross stagnant water.

"Uhg, these robes are ruined," Dorian muttered to himself as they waded back onto dry ground.

"How well do you know this place?" asked Resheri as they examined all the various shut doors, "Where do we go?"

"Not well, and Maker only knows where Alexius has holed himself up.  We need to find more information."  Dorian bent down to squeeze some lingering moisture out of his robe.

"Hmmm, I don’t know how much time we have, so I want us to split here.  I go left, you go right.  If we see anyone we have to fight, we turn around and come back here.  Alright?"  Resheri already had his knives out, so Dorian wasn’t sure if he would follow his own advice.

"You’re the Boss, Boss," said Dorian with a shrug, trying to act far more calm than he was really feeling.  All the pressure to get them out of this mess was on his shoulders.  What if he couldn’t?  No time to think like that.  Dorian went through the right door, being careful around every corner so as not to startle any stray guards.  The castle was oddly barren of life, and Dorian could feel an oppressive atmosphere weighing down upon him with every step.  Red Lyrium seemed to grow freely from the walls and he skirted around it nervously.  

Dorian opened the first door he came to, slowly at first to check for guards, and then slipping inside when it became clear it was empty.  Cells.  Some so full of Red Lyrium it seemed no prisoner could fit inside them.  Dorian walked to the end of the room, glancing in each cell just to check and see if there was any life.  In the last cell to his left he froze in his tracks.

Iron Bull.

More scars.  Single eye glowing.  Red Lyrium spiking from his shoulders and coating his horns in a glowing red sheen.  Bull growled and Dorian’s knees went weak, forcing him to lean on his staff or risk collapsing.

"The Omega mage," said Bull, pushing himself to his feet with a pained grunt, "we thought you were dead you and…" Bull’s eye went wide as he put two and two together.  "The Boss, is he-"

"He’s fine," said Dorian quickly, "we split up.  What… what happened to you?"

"What’s it look like?" asked Bull with a shrug, wrapping his fingers around the bars to stare at Dorian.  "Torture, infected with Red Lyrium… I was hoping to die in the next couple days but I could hold on if you need some muscle."  Iron Bull flexed with a grin and Dorian saw his gums bleeding freely.  He wrinkled his nose, a little afraid to let Bull out of his cell.

"You… you won’t… do anything if I let you out, will you?"  Dorian wondered if Bull could smell him just as strongly, after that douse in water his own pheromones had to just as strong.  Right?  Wait… Bull already knew he was an Omega… it should have been impossible!

Bull’s eye glinted dangerously, “You think I’m going to come out there, rip your robes off, and fuck you on this dungeon floor?”

Dorian swallowed hard, and though his gut was cold with fear, his cock had other ideas.

Then, unexpectedly, the hard glint in Bull’s eye faded and he gave Dorian a crooked, reassuring smile.  ”You smell good enough to eat, ‘Vint, but this isn’t the time…or place… and I’m not really about hurting Omegas… unless they ask for it.”  That crooked smile again.  Falling apart, no doubt in enormous pain, and standing there playfully ribbing Dorian.  Without a second thought, Dorian touched the lock and it clicked open, letting Bull step out to freedom for the first time in who knew how long.

"Ah!" Bull stretched his arms over his head with a pleased sigh, "Room to move around!  Now let’s kill us some fucking assholes!"

Ridiculous, he didn’t even have a weapon.  Dorian took a deep breath, getting his legs back under him as he followed Bull out of the room.

They found Resheri in the main room with Varric at his side, already clutching his crossbow like other men would hold a lover.  Bull had found a giant ax on a corpse and was spinning it around like it didn’t weigh a thing.  ”We have to find Alexius,” said Dorian, finding that with every breath he was growing more accustomed to Bull’s overwhelming scent.  It still filled him with warmth, but at least he didn’t have to worry about collapsing anymore.

"Well, only one way left to go," said Resheri, tilting his head towards the door before them.

Dorian nodded, nerves making his stomach clench.  He could do this, he just needed the amulet and then all of this would never happen.  Bull could smile at him without blood dripping from between his teeth.  Why did that suddenly matter to him?

When they stepped through the portal, the sight of Bull’s broad back flexing as he charged with a roar to his own death was still fresh in Dorian’s mind.  It perhaps explained the almost palpable relief he felt when they arrived in the present and Bull was still alive and well.  He gave Dorian a vaguely distrustful raise of the eyebrow when he noticed just how long he’d been staring.  Dorian glanced away quickly, heart beating too fast in his chest.

Resheri invited him into the Inquisition almost before Dorian could ask.  He said his goodbyes to Felix, both of them knowing it would probably be the last time they ever saw each other, and then set off with Resheri to Haven.  Even now, all the disgusting, raw scents of the South caused Dorian some discomfort when they traveled, most of all being how delicious Bull smelled.  It drove Dorian crazy, finding a Qunari brute so delectable only because his pheromones seemed to mesh so well with Dorian’s own.  That was it.  He did not find his scarred face attractive, no, not at all.  He didn’t like the brutish horns, he didn’t like the big, bulging muscles… he didn’t like the way Bull laughed or smiled…he didn’t…

"You’re staring again," Bull whispered as they both fell behind the group.

"I am not," Dorian snapped, flushing with embarrassment at the very thought that he’d been caught.  Bull had been very upfront about his being a Qunari spy, so Dorian supposed it only made sense that he would know when someone was watching him.

"No need to deny it," laughed Bull, flexing one big arm with a wink (or maybe he had just blinked really hard, stupid idiot didn’t seem to grasp you couldn’t wink with just one eye).  "Omegas stare all the time, I’m used to it.  I could help you… scratch that itch, ‘Vint."

"Most certainly NOT!" Dorian snarled, picking up the pace to move away from Bull as quickly as he could without looking like he was running.  The worst part was, he briefly considered it.

When Dorian settled into Haven, it became clear that Resheri had a party he liked to travel with more than anyone else.  That was Dorian, Iron Bull, and Cassandra or Varric.  So Dorian found himself spending far more time with Bull than he would have first expected.  Cassandra was an Alpha too, but her scent held no interest to him at all.  Iron Bull’s smell could still make his knees weak if Dorian wasn’t guarded for it.  It didn’t help that Bull was pleasant and laid back, and kept making sexual innuendos to the point where Dorian was honestly afraid to actually polish his staff for fear Bull would pop up out of nowhere and say something about it.

Dorian tried his hardest to needle something unpleasant out of him, to insult his way of life, his personal hygiene, anything Dorian could dig his barbed tongue into… and Bull would just laugh and ask him if he needed to unwind, he was looking a little…stiff.  Reprehensible!  How dare he be such a pleasant person!  It made it that much harder to resist him.  Before Dorian could make a terrible mistake, Haven was razed to the ground, almost with them still in it.

Everything had happened so fast that by the time they got to Skyhold, Dorian didn’t even realize his Heat was starting to creep up on him.  Normally he was quite meticulous about tracking it, but between traveling with Resheri and fleeing for his life from a fucking Archdemon and some kind of ancient Tevinter Magister (great, just great, as if he didn’t get enough side-eyes), Dorian had quite forgotten about it.

Until he went down to the training yard one day and Bull stopped in his tracks to stare at him.  Dorian froze, breathing in only to have Bull’s scent feel… stronger some how.  They starred each other down before Dorian’s bravado snapped and he turned on his heel and fled, slick sliding down his thighs.  He scoured his rooms for any remaining blocker, but it was long gone with no hopes of getting more.  He could possibly talk to Josie about getting more imported… but that would be too little too late.

Now that he was aware of it, Dorian could feel the heat starting to curl in his belly.  His hole was growing lose, wet, his head felt full of cotton.  A few more days and he’d lose his mind to it.  Dorian didn’t want to leave his rooms for fear of running into Bull, so he penned a quick note for Resheri and had someone run it down for him.  He had clear instructions.  Heat is going to start.  If anyone comes to my rooms with water or food they must be betas.  It’ll only take about a week and then I’ll be fine.  ’

That night there was a knock on his door.  Dorian knew who it was immediately.  Iron Bull’s scent was already filling the room, torturing him.  His control was tenuous at best, but Dorian thought he was still well enough to at least answer the door to tell Bull face-to-face to get lost for a week.  No matter how much his body begged him not to do that.  Dorian reluctantly pushed himself out of his chair, opening the door to see Bull (no surprise) carrying a stack of Dorian’s favorite books and a huge jug of water (very surprising).  Instead of telling him to fuck off, Dorian stepped back and let him in, shutting the door behind him.

There was a tense, charged atmosphere between them, but Bull was no less well mannered than he always was.  It would be impossible to tell he was even effected by Dorian’s heat if it weren’t for the light sheen of sweat on his forehead and how dilated his pupil was.  ”So, Dorian,” he said, setting the books on the table along with the water, “I read the note you sent to the Inquisitor… a full week, huh?  That’s rough.”

"Yes…" said Dorian tersely, using everything he had not to throw himself at Bull.

"You know… with an Alpha it could be only three days," Bull was looking right at him, gaze direct, intense.  Dorian felt a great need spike inside him and he hissed, one hand on his belly.

"Bull…please… why are you tempting me now?"  The thought of saying no was almost painful.  Dorian had never had an Alpha before and now the biggest, strongest Alpha Dorian had ever met, one he had been lusting over for two months, was standing before him and…what…? Offering to get Dorian through his Heat?  Was that all?  Iron Bull had been dropping hints for months… what did he want, exactly?

"You know I could smell you the moment I walked through that door," said Bull in reply, one hand flat on the table as he leaned against it.  "I probably shouldn’t have, you’ve made mention of that… stuff you ‘Vints use to all smell Beta… but I did.  Clear as day.  I wanted to fuck you right then and there."

"Oh Maker," Dorian gasped, putting a hand against the door to keep from falling, "You can’t say things like that to me right now.  What do you want, Iron Bull?"

"I want to give you the best experience of your life," said Bull.  From anyone else that would have sounded stupid, but from Bull, Dorian believed it.  He wanted that too. Heats were a time of misery for him… if he could just have one that wasn’t for once… he had a willing Alpha… but was he willing?

"And if I say no?" asked Dorian lightly, "I won’t find you up here fucking me when I’m too far gone to decline, will I?"

Bull looked disgusted at the very thought and Dorian’s worries faded, “If you said no I would leave without question.  You’ve known me for two months, Dorian, do I really come off like… that?”

"No," said Dorian softly, fingers curling into the fabric of his own shirt, "surprisingly not."  He paused, not because he didn’t know what he was going to say already, but because he wanted Iron Bull to just sit and suffer for a moment.  "You know, if you say you’re going to give me the best experience of my life… that had better be true," said Dorian, standing up straight to give Bull a clear challenge in his smirk.

The grin Bull gave him in return was predatory, sending a shiver of lust down Dorian’s spine.  ”Oh, believe me Dorian…it will be.”

Dorian gasped as he was pinned against the door, Bull’s chest pressing him back against the wood.  Suddenly that smell spiked he moaned, head falling back with a thunk.  Dorian didn’t know what he smelled like to Bull right now, but he knew that Bull was a thick, spicy musk that was only growing stronger as he bent down to lick a hot, wet strip up Dorian’s neck.

He wasn’t sure how they made it to the bed, but the smell of an Alpha seemed to have kick started his Heat a couple days early.  Dorian spread his legs wide, begging without shame as Bull mounted him.  His cock was enormous but Dorian’s body sucked it in greedily, no matter the length or the girth.  One meaty thigh was pressed tight against Dorian’s side, hands on his hips the only things keeping him from collapsing against the mattress.  Dorian came three times in a row, one right after another, just from Bull’s merciless thrusting.  He was rough in all the right ways, playing Dorian’s body like a well-tuned violin.  He could feel Bull’s knot starting to swell, catching on his slick hole with every harsh thrust.  A fourth orgasm ripped through him and Dorian cried out, arching his back as he scrambled to get his elbows back under him.

Everything was a blur of smells and sensations, he was losing himself to them.  Dorian trembled with exhaustion, but he would find no relief until that knot finally locked inside him.  He was begging, he was sure, but Dorian’s mouth no longer seemed attached to his body, how could he be making all these embarrassing sounds?  Iron Bull was grunting and growling above him, speeding up as his knot grew and he got closer to coming.  A few hard snaps of his hips and Dorian nearly screamed, coming a fifth and final time as that knot inflated completely, locking Bull inside of him.  He could feel that big cock pulsing, filling him with come.  

Dorian blearily realized he’d have to make some tea when this was all over to keep from taking Bull’s seed.  However that seemed the far far future when the present was Bull kissing the back of his neck and nibbling his ear.  Dorian groaned, sinking into the mattress as Bull slowly lowered himself down without crushing him.  He was a warm, steady weight along Dorian’s back, his cock still throbbing now and again with spurts of come.  Dorian felt completely engulfed by Bull’s arms, both of them shifting until Dorian was on his side, tucked comfortably against Bull’s sweaty chest.

During his week of Heat, without an Alpha, Dorian slipped into near madness for the whole time… but his mind was crystal clear, the Heat filled for the moment.  He turned his head slightly, whispering out, “If you keep this up for the next few days… I MIGHT consider it the best experience of my life.”

Dorian more felt than heard Bull’s rumbling laugh, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

After a short nap, Dorian felt Bull’s knot deflate and his cock slide free, come splashing out of his loose asshole to pool on the sheets.  He’d deal with that…later… no point in getting clean when soon he’d just be getting dirty again.  Dorian had just enough time to gulp down a few glasses of water and some biscuits before the familiar tightness began to build in his gut.  Iron Bull seemed to sense it, Dorian wondered if his scent changed, and soon he was getting fucked over the table.

Over the course of three days, Iron Bull fucked him everywhere in the room.  He sucked Dorian’s cock in the chair, fucked him against the door, made Dorian ride him on the rug before the fireplace.  It was disgusting and messy and animalistic and now that Dorian had a taste of it, he didn’t know if he could ever go without it again.  By the end of it he couldn’t walk and his bed, and other surfaces of the room, had come stains that would never be cleaned out.  Iron Bull had him laying out over his chest, one hand stroking soothingly up and down Dorian’s back.

The silence between them was comfortable, and Dorian found he almost wanted Bull to stay past the Heat.  After all, sex without desperation would be a pleasant change…though maybe not until he recovered.


End file.
